Rise above political calamity and make Games a success

I READ with alacrity every snippet of information on the upcoming Commonwealth Games in the vain hope that the powers that be from all sides of the political spectrum and all levels of government would actually address the appalling infrastructure mess, in particular the M1, the roofless swimming venue, the Indian manufactured trains (with no luggage facility even to the airport, trams ditto) the inadequate local road system and so on and so forth.

I have in the past advocated rolling blockades, mass desertion of the Coast and strike action by volunteers advised to be gender neutral.

However, what we have now is what we have to live with so it is time to change tack and “in spite” of our dithering politicians and the aloofness (some might even say smugness) of the GOLDOC chairman Peter “suck it up” Beattie, we only have one course of action left to us.

That is to rise above the political calamity and make sure the Games are a success, the name of our good city is on the line.

If Glasgow can do it we should be more than capable and we do not want the ridicule and stigma that New Delhi had to bear for the XIX Games (fair or unfair).

There is little more that can be done at this eleventh hour except to make it work, make it the best and have people from the commonwealth nations remember the Gold Coast for all the right reasons.

So let’s call a truce on the whinging, moaning and derogatory dialogue until, let’s say, April, 20, 2018 (to allow the extenders a few days to clear out).

After all, it is our house and we have invited 2.1 billion people (hope they don’t all show up) so we now have to make the best of what we have. After all, if you invited extended family to a party at your house and the plumbing broke, the electrics blew a fuse and the roof leaked, you would still make the most of it, that is the Aussie way.

So smile, be happy, pretend everything is dandy, no more dirty laundry, no, save that for when everyone else has left, then hit the idiots that withheld funding for this, bought useless land for that, cut the budget for all etcetera, with everything we have.

That means where it hurts them most, their pay packets, it will be a consequence of us misplacing the trust we had when we elected them and their complete failure to listen to the community they represent and work for.